Preparation [3]

The conversation went relatively well. There were some opponents to its stability, mainly the two from the Ignis Clan, but the Aurora and Ether Clan geniuses were surprisingly accepting.

Seryius was right above Valerie in standing. He didn't have the luxury to think himself better than her. Instead, she was a competition that he had to acknowledge.

As for Cera, she was tied with Valerie. Gio, Bianca, Raphael, and Iridia were also tied with August and Melania. 

The so-called fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-place positions were ones shared by many people.

After all, there weren't many opportunities to gain points. Everyone only participated twice, which meant those two positions defined where they stood.

In every round, those geniuses had finished on the podium. However, since the rest had done the same, they all ended up in the same place.

They were all fighting a battle to make it into the top three as people who sat on its cusp.